Guy wrote:Do the new Gecko Boards still have the protruding gecko logo below the jugs? My board had these, but I filed them off because they used to dig holes in my wrists when I did pull-ups on the jugs.

check out the ones at City Rock if you are in Cape Town. The big shiny wooden one hanging on the wall behind the till with the SOLD sign on is mine.
i had the gecko one but it would eat the skin on my pinkie and ring finger when doing dead hangs. Badly, like peel 3mm of skin off badly, making it impossible to complete a 20 min workout. and i thought my hands were tough.
i have done a few sessions on Guy's wooden beast maker and i can say that it is much easier on the skin. City Rock's equivalent looks like the closest thing to that at half the price.
it should be in my scullery by at least the 1st half of 2012......

Wooden boards are the way to go, but the Wood Grips boards tend to have too large of holds to be effective when pushing for hard training. I have the Metolius Simulator and it has a large variety of grips. I love it.

The Moonstones board lacks enough variety of holds to be good for training. I am very strong with deadhangs, pullups and all the other training methods and yet I find that this board is inadequate. You can basically crimp on it.

Beastmakers are the Bugati Veyron of boards, you get what you pay for.

Most important thing is to ensure you warm up properly and don't push too hard until your body is ready to take the abuse. It is a very good way to progress from 25 upwards, take care of your fingers if you're not climbing hard consistently...

I hate this real world place... I'd be more than happy to live out there rather...

If you are in Cape Town, you can get hold of Olaf De Wet on 0845150857 who will make you a costom wooden hangboard.
I have tested them out myself and they are the most finger friendly boards I have used, made from quality wood. He has made some boards with super interesting and useful features that one generally would not find on regular hangboards, but as they are costom one can choose what ever one would like. Olaf will make it all.